London - The Home Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, accused the Conservative leader, Mr William Hague, of being "unable to contain" sections of his party yesterday as the race row dominated political exchanges, writes Rachel Donnelly. Signalling his concerns that some Conservatives were seeking to exploit race ahead of a general election, Mr Straw said the party was now "split three ways" on the issue. As the political fallout continued over three Conservative MPs' refusal to sign a Commission for Racial Equality pledge to keep race out of politics, Mr Straw said he was "very unhappy" with some Tories and the leadership.
"The problem with William Hague is not that I think for a second he is a racist but he is very, very weak and he is unable to contain this," the Home Secretary told BBC Radio 4.
The Conservatives hit back at the Home Secretary, accusing him of "disgraceful smears" and insisted that Mr Hague had signed the pledge on behalf of the party and it was never the intention that all Tory MPs should sign up.